Get Better Footwork

How to split step the right way...

Author

Shea Underwood
July 23, 2025

Week 55

Welcome back to the Road to Pro Newsletter! Just by opening this issue, you are now automatically eligible for this week’s paddle giveaway. Last week’s winner was David from New York!

Here’s what I’ve got for you this week:

  • The two most important techniques for split stepping

  • An engaging drill to practice footwork and transitions

If you’re reading this, you now have a chance to win this week’s paddle giveaway!

Now, let's get to it!

Big shoutout to Selkirk for sponsoring this newsletter and making all the paddle giveaways I do possible! I personally have been using a Selkirk paddle for over five years now, and every paddle I’ve used has been better than the last one. I recently started using their newest paddle — the Project 008, and it’s giving me more power and spin than I’ve ever had before. You can pick yours up on their website here and use code INF-Shea for a gift card on a future purchase.

The Right Footwork

Split stepping is the most important footwork movement you need to know to improve at pickleball. If you don’t train this footwork, then you’ll always have a hard time making your way up to the net without losing the point.

In case you’re unfamiliar with this term: split stepping is when your feet are about shoulder-width (or slightly wider) apart, your knees are bent, and your body is balanced so it can move quickly in any direction.

I’ve got two simple—but super important—techniques for better split stepping. First: don’t jump into it. A common mistake I see is players jumping into their split step instead of stopping their forward momentum first.

Do this: take one final step to stop your forward movement, then plant both feet at the same time in a wide, athletic stance and lower your body. That way, you’re balanced and ready for whatever shot you’re about to receive.

The second thing you need to be doing is split stepping BEFORE your opponent makes contact with the ball. A lot of players rush to the kitchen as fast as they can, but you can’t always get there in just one shot. Sometimes it takes several.

To effectively make that transition, you need to move forward when you can, but also stop, get balanced, and split step, before your opponent hits the ball. If you wait too long to split step, you’ll still be in motion while the ball is already coming towards you, and that can easily prevent you from getting to it successfully.

Split stepping is a really important movement that you need to learn. When you have better footwork, you’ll quickly see your overall skill on the court improve.

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You can go watch my YouTube video about this where I go into more detail, and you can visually see the split stepping process (timestamp 1:22). Check it out! 👇️

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7/11

There’s a fun, popular drill called 7/11 that’s perfect for working on the footwork we’ve been talking about this week.

Here’s how it works: one player starts at the net, the other at the baseline. The player at the net feeds the first ball, and then you just play out the rally. The player at the baseline is trying to work their way up to the net, and both players are trying to win the point.

The player at the net needs 11 points to win, but the player at the baseline only needs 7, since that player is starting at a disadvantage in every rally.

When you’re doing this drill, don’t rush to the kitchen if you don’t have time. If you hit a pretty solid drop, go ahead and move up a bit, but keep your eye on your opponent’s paddle. Split step before they hit their next shot, then keep moving forward if your next drop or reset is good enough to let you.

Just remember: court movement is super dynamic. If you hit too high of a drop, you might actually need to move back. Just make sure that before your opponent hits the ball, you aren’t reeling back or running forward. You’ll easily lose the point if you’re not balanced and ready.

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